Learning At School
24 to 27 February 2009


When I came back from Rotorua I spent a bit of time sifting through all the "noise" that a conference can leave you with. It got to the stage where there was so much information that it was a bit hard working out what was relevant and what wasn't. This powerpoint is a reflection of the different thoughts, conversations and ideas that I heard, made or overheard during the week. Please note that most of the thoughts in this aren't attributable to me!!
Rotorua Thinking 010309.ppsx Steve Zonnevylle

Here's a photo of the "A" team minus Louise, Shaun and Steve, at the Mount.

A_team_web.jpg

Key Messages From Learning At Schools 2009

On the way back from the Mount on the Friday evening some of you might remember me going on about a song called the Sunscreen Song. The video is a bit naff, but the words are fantastic. I've used a few times with my staff and it works really well as a leveller.


And this is the link to that youtube video that they were showing on the first day of conference prior to Andy Hargreaves speaking;

Regards Steve Z


After the "Transformational Teachers" breakout I created a poster to use with staff to help us establish an agreed level of common practice across our school. Our management team have decided to use it at the learning team level (3-4) teachers then come together to discuss what we believe is important to us all. The next key step will be ensure we have programmes to bring our learners on board. Developing in our students a strong understanding of the key competencies will be essential for this. My Breakout 6 session "It's All About Learning" had some brilliant examples eg. using the NZC Key Competency page for guided reading. Unfortunately the presenters notes have not been posted; I will email to try and get them. Jeremy


Well it was a great trip all round I thought!
Mr Ryan was the presenter who struck the greatest chord with me. His statement " it's not what you teach, but who you are", is very powerful and has a lot of implications for the way we organise ourselves as a group of people as well as a group of teachers. He talked about thinking patterns that develop energy and awareness in people (teachers): be present, life (&teaching) is a mirror, regulate self talk (positivity), and consult with your metaself.
So if we want our team to be energetic and aware we obviously need to look at developing these qualities - makes stuff like numeracy training look quite straightforward really!
Dave